Author: Philbert Ono

Updated: Oct. 11, 2020 (First posted in June 2012) Spa Resort Hawaiians (スパリゾートハワイアンズ) is a Hawaiian-themed water park and hot spring (onsen) amusement park in the coastal city of Iwaki…

For people studying Japanese or English, here’s a Japanese vocabulary list and basic phrases we often hear in Japan for COVID-19. This list might help healthcare workers and patients in…

Update: Due to the postponement of Tokyo 2020, all test events in 2020 have been canceled or postponed. Video above mainly shows test events held in 2019. Tokyo 2020 Olympic…

Ariake Arena in Koto Ward, Tokyo was completed in December 2019 and I attended the dedication ceremony held on Feb. 2, 2020. It will be the venue for Olympic volleyball…

Updated: April 19, 2021 *Update: To prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Saitama Homestay Program in 2021 has been canceled. Online Zoom meetings will be held instead. Saitama Prefecture is…

Japan’s new Olympic Stadium (aka National Stadium, Kokuritsu Kyogijo 国立競技場) was completed in Nov. 2019 and the public could enter the stadium for the first time at the opening event…

Tokyo has been holding some “1 Year to Go!” events. If you visit Tokyo this summer 2019, here are some neat events/things you can see for a limited time. Olympic…

Compiled by Philbert Ono, Updated: Oct. 11, 2019 This is the 2019 schedule of Awa Odori dance festivals to be held in the Tokyo/Kanto area (Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba…

Kameido Tenjin Shrine (亀戸天神社) is one of Tokyo’s most beloved Shinto shrines. It has pretty flowers, it’s photogenic, it’s historical, and it retains a local ambience. From late April to…

by Philbert Ono, updated Feb. 19, 2024 “Kyoto by the Sea” (海の京都) is a tourism catch phrase for northern Kyoto Prefecture that mainly faces the Sea of Japan. This region…